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She has to be disabled for more than 6mths before you can collect for SSA benefits and two years for medicare but do NOT wait to file the claim as it goes by the filing date, not when ones eligible for benefits, so file early and wait.
Also file immediately for any insurance or "disability retirement" funds as they also go by the date of filing and will not "back pay" the claim. You don't have to be complete in your first filing and "unkown at this time" on applications is an aceptable answer in court.
PLEASE, find a legal aid that specilizes in disability claims to help you fill out the paper work. The wording response of the claim is critical, in that it will save you time and trouble in the futhure of an allowed claim or disallowed claim. On disallowed claims, it takes a good attorney to win and is very costly to win, over $100k is common.
Every person she talks too in the medical field will be working for the insurance company's. DON'T ever forget this! She will be video and audio taped without her premission given. You give your premission when you APPLY to receive ANY benefits and it's legal!!!
Always get copyies of ALL medical chart notes, starting from day one. The "hidden" chart notes you will never get but they'll sink you like a rock if the person making the medical notes doesn't like the patient.
You will fight all insurance company's, including SSA (SSA is nothing more than a gov't insurance company), until the person is 55yo, so get used to it early on.
Most insurance company's will not bother you for the first 6mths of disability, but after 6mths then you get "new claims adjusters" for the "hard cases", meaning long term disability's and they will make your life pure heII.
I wish I had someone tell me the above 10yrs ago! My PM is always open